On September 25, 2015, 193 countries unanimously adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the next 15 years, agendas and policies will be framed to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were agreed upon by governments in 2001.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. They are also known as the 2030 Agenda because they are intended to be met by 2030. The principle of "Leaving No One Behind" is at the heart of the SDG Framework.
About the SDG Community Project
In July 2019, KWIC applied for Sustainable Development Goals Program Funding, in partnership with GreenUP, to build upon the foundation established at the 2019 SDG Forum. This grant was awarded in March 2020 and concluded in March 2021.
This SDG Community Project created five action teams based on the five local key priority action areas identified for Peterborough at the 2019 SDG Forum. About 60 community volunteers made up the teams:
- Prioritizing Indigenous Leadership
- SDG #1 No Poverty
- SDG # 4 Quality Education
- SDG #6 Clean Water and Sanitization
- SDG #13 Climate Action
Our Key Activities:
- Creation of educational and informational materials that profile the 17 Sustainable Development Goals;
- Leverage the 2019 Community Forum Report as a tool to help contextualize the SDGs and to highlight the five local priority SDGs that were identified by participants;
- Build upon the 2019 Forum Report to identify existing initiatives and partnerships that are working to advance each of the priority SDGs;
- Establish five Priority Action Teams focused on each of the identified priority goals;
- Build bridges with trusted local organizations, who are already supporting priority populations, to enable and support their ongoing participation; and,
- Host a second community forum in 2021, centered on the theme of leaving no one behind.
- Learn more about the Leaving No One Behind principle here:
2021 SDG Community Forum
On February 24th and 25th, 2021, KWIC and GreenUP hosted a 2-day, virtual community forum entitled, “Centering Indigenous Leadership and Diverse Perspectives to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough”.
Community members assembled to deepen their understanding of how to advance the SDGs in a way that leaves no one behind and prioritizes Indigenous leadership. Collectively, Indigenous leadership was identified as critical to our local success.
We welcomed over two hundred participants from near and far to work with the Nogojiwanong/Peterborough community in three interconnected workshops. Interconnectedness is a recurring theme in this project. The action teams are aware of how the local SDGs and 17 UN SDGs are related; one cannot be achieved without the others. Locally, we believe that the steps we take in our community will ripple out into the world in a good way.
By the end of the forum, the urgent need to reach our goals was evident. We have nine years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda; there is much important work to be done.
The project team would like to offer our sincerest thank you to the organizers, partners, team members, volunteers, speakers, funders, leaders, and event participants who helped bring this memorable event together. We look forward to seeing what comes next!
The 2021 SDG Community Forum recordings can be found on the Kawartha World Issues Centre's Youtube.
2021 SDG Community Forum Presentation Slides:
SDG Training for Trent Students : Feb/Mar 2021
Trent university students and community were invited to learn how to develop a skills training and action plan to implement SDGs at Trent University with the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship sponsored by Trent School of the Environment in partnership with Kawartha World Issues Centre and GreenUp.
https://hopin.com/events/sdgs-launch-trent-university-un-official-skills..
SDG Workshops for Community & School Groups
In conjunction with the SDG project, KWIC youth facilitators developed and currently lead an interactive workshop series on localizing the SDG's with a focus on youth engagement, Indigenous leadership and leaving no one behind. Click here to Book a Workshop!
Resources and Reports
We are grateful for our community partner and project funder:
KWIC in the News
Kawartha Now:
- Part 1: From global to local: how Peterborough is implementing the UN’s goals for sustainable development
- Part 2: Indigenous leadership central to local action on United Nations’ sustainable development goals
- Part 3: Virtual community forum advances UN sustainable development goals in Peterborough/Nogojiwanong
- Final: Coming together to build a better Nogojiwanong/Peterborough and a better world
Peterborough Examiner:
- Part 1: GreenUP: Peterborough navigates the U.N’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development
- Part 2: GreenUP: Indigenous Leadership Guiding the Local Sustainable Development Goals
- Part 3: Community forum localizes sustainable development goals
- Final: GreenUP: Taking the next steps to a better world